DENVER — After months of setbacks, opposition and changed plans, Denver’s first sanctioned homeless encampment will soon open at Denver’s First Baptist Church in Capitol Hill.
And a second encampment will likely soon follow.
Denver’s Department of Community Planning and Development issued a temporary use permit to Earthlinks, which will operate the encampment, last week, confirmed spokeswoman Laura Swartz. Now all the nonprofit must do is obtain electrical and fire safety permits before it can open, she said.
That site should be up and running by the end of next week, said Kathleen Van Voorhis, director of housing justice for the partnering Colorado Interfaith Alliance. The lease for the property will last six months, she said.
“We are very happy that we can set up and serve those in need,” Van Voorhis said. “The goal is to get people into resources and into housing and up and out of poverty.”
